1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mist removal system and a mist removal method that reduce the mist concentration in a machine tool and the mist concentration in a factory in which the machine tool is installed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In working using a cutting fluid, a situation in which a machine tool and a factory are contaminated by a mist (particles derived from the discharged cutting fluid scattered in the air by, for example, being raised by a rotary tool) generated at the time of working cannot be avoided. The mist entering a control panel and a mechanical unit of the machine tool will lead to a mechanical breakdown and, in addition thereto, contamination of the air in the factory may cause a health hazard and accidents caused by poor visibility during work.
Thus, in the past, a technology for mist suppression and removal (hereinafter referred to as a mist countermeasure unit), such as a mist collector which is a device that collects the generated mist by sucking the air in the working area of a machine tool, for example, has been known and described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-161759, for example.
In the past, a machine tool and factory facilities (such as an air conditioner) have been individually controlled. The mist countermeasure unit disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-161759 described above is independently subjected to ON/OFF-only control under the machine tool to which the mist countermeasure unit is attached, which causes a problem of inefficient mist removal and a lot of waste in power consumption depending on the situation.
For example, the mist collector is generally used in continuous operation, which may cause the mist collector to continue idle running even in a period in which a new mist is not generated while the machine tool is stopped and wastefully continue consuming electric power.
Moreover, considering a case in which a reduction in the concentration of a mist filling the inside of the factory is desired, since the mist concentration varies from hour to hour depending on, for example, the air conditioning state of the factory in addition to the number of machine tools operating in the factory and the working details of each machine tool (in general, a mist is easily generated during hard working), it is inefficient to use only one mist countermeasure unit; however, if all the mist countermeasure units are fully operated continuously with no consideration given to the above-described situation in the factory, the electric power is wastefully consumed.